Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) will confer the 'Distinguished Alumni Award' to Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, both are alumni of the New Delhi-based Central University. According a varsity official, the Executive Council of JNU approved a proposal to bestow the award on Finance Minister Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, during the third convocation of the varsity to be held in August this year.
"The Executive Council of JNU in its meeting on 12 June 2019 unanimously approved a proposal to bestow Distinguished Alumni Award on two of its illustrious alumni, Minister of Finance Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of External Affairs Sri Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, during the third Convocation of the University to be held in August 2019," Pramod Kumar, the university registrar, said in a statement.
"Their highly distinguished career and achievements have made the university very proud and they are a great source of inspiration for JNU students and researchers. They will be the first recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Award to be conferred by the university," the statement added.
Nirmala Sitharaman
Nirmala Sitharaman joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2008, and was made a member of the National Executive.
Ms Sitharaman completed her MA and M Phil degrees from the School of Social Sciences and School of International Studies, respectively.
Ms Sitharaman was the first woman to be appointed full-time Defence Minister of India in September 2017.
Sixty-year-old Sitharaman, a Rajya Sabha member, is the second woman to take charge of the crucial ministry after Indira Gandhi who, as the Prime Minister, also held the portfolio in the seventies.
Ms Sitharaman is also an alumnus of London School of Economics.
She did her schooling and her graduation in Economics, from Seethalakshmi Ramaswamy College in Tiruchirapalli.
Ms Sitharaman served as an assistant to Economist in the Agricultural Engineers Association in London. She subsequently worked as Senior Manager (Research and Analysis) with Price Waterhouse, London.
During this time she also briefly worked with BBC World Service.
On her return to India, she served as Deputy Director of the Centre for Public Policy Studies at Hyderabad.
Ms Sitharaman joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2008, and was made a member of the National Executive. She was nominated as party spokesperson in March 2010 and has been a full time party worker since then.
She was inducted in the Union Cabinet on May 26, 2014 as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce and Industry.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
In 2019, Mr Jaishankar was conferred with Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of the country.
A graduate of St Stephen's College, Mr Jaishankar is an MA in Political Science and an MPhil and PhD in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
In 2019, Mr Jaishankar was conferred with Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of the country.
Mr Jaishankar, son of late K Subrahmanyam, one of India's leading strategic analysts, was a key member of the Indian team which negotiated the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal.
Mr Jaishankar was appointed as foreign secretary in January 2015. The 64-year-old had earlier served as India's Ambassador to the US and before that to China.
A 1977-batch IFS officer, Mr Jaishankar played a key role in resolving the crisis following the incursion in Ladakh's Depsang and the Doklam stand-off, handling the tough negotiations with Beijing.
Among other positions, Mr Jaishankar has been India's High Commissioner to Singapore and Ambassador to the Czech Republic.
Today the Executive Council of JNU decided to bestow the newly established Distinguished Alumni Award upon Smt. Nirmala Sitaraman and Shri. S. Jaishankar in the third convocation to be held in August 2019. They will be the first recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Award. pic.twitter.com/ElSuDTsh9m
- Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar (@mamidala90) June 12, 2019
(With PIT Inputs)
